The Storm is centered on a hurricane that hit England, including London, on November 26–27, 1703. The strongest winds were approximately eighty mph sustained between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and covered an area 300 miles wide. Defoe experienced the storm first-hand, and tells his account of the impact and the damage that he witnessed that morning. Defoe also published ads inviting residents across England to write-in their accounts, and that those accounts would be compiled in a book so that the storm would be remembered for posterity. Defoe mixed fact and fiction in his later writings, and may have done so to some extent in the Storm. As 19th-century critic William Minto notes, “it is possible that the letters are genuine, and that he compiled other details from published accounts.” (Daniel Defoe, Chapter III, by William Minto).

The letters from the public show great variety in the details of individual experiences with the storm. There were many tragic and sad deaths, and many miraculous escapes from death. The stories have a common theme of the severity of the storm. Many homes were demolished, roof tiles and other objects becoming deadly projectiles flying through towns. The strongest winds sweeping through at 1:00 a.m., most people had been in bed and so caught off guard (there were no weather forecasts to speak of in 1703). Defoe speaks of noticing the barometer being so low, he was sure one of the children had been playing with it, as it could not possibly go that low on its own. Many other households likely had the same experience. Even if they interpreted the barometric pressure accurately, there was little they could do in response that evening.

Defoe’s writing style is clear and very engaging in this book, though his writing is less than half of The Storm. Most of it comprises the write-in letters from the public in answer to Defoe’s invitation. The letters bring a local flavor that complements Defoe’s own account, and makes the reader feel closer to the experience on the ground.

The Penguin edition comes with an excellent introduction by Richard Hamblyn. It establishes the context of the times, and Defoe in relation to his audience and the establishment. For example, Defoe had spent time in prison recently for published attacks on high-level officials in Queen Anne’s government. He was released about a week before the storm hit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe#Pamphleteering_and_prison). Defoe was already a well-known “pundit” as we might call him today; before he had published any of his famous novels (The Storm was his first book).

The Penguin edition also includes a very helpful chronology and maps to give more context. The book represents a compelling slice of history, which sheds light on the culture of its time and place. I recommend The Storm to anyone interested in British history, world history, literature, or simply a good book to read. ( )

This is an account by the author more famous as the writer of Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders, of the Great Storm of 1703, one of the most famous weather events in British history, which he described as "The Greatest, the Longest in Duration, the widest in Extent, of all the Tempests and Storms that History gives any Account of since the Beginning of Time". This is considered to be one of the first pieces of journalism in a fairly modern sense, and one of the first detailed accounts of a meteorological event. After a brief discussion of ancient Roman and Medieval sources on storms and how awful the weather in Britain was, the bulk of the book consists of various accounts Defoe collected from around the country of the damage and destruction wrought across the country. These accounts show how widespread the devastation and death was, but it is all very repetitive and anecdotal and, to a modern reader, rambling and lacking in analysis or summation. What struck me was that, although this has sometimes been described as the worst storm in British history until superseded by the modern Great Storm of 1987, Defoe reckoned that some 8,000 people died in the 1703 storm (including some in Holland), whereas only 18 died in the 1987 event in Britain (plus four in France). An interesting historical curiosity, though my version appears to be truncated, to my annoyance. ( )

This is one of the earliest pieces of journalism to survive and a blueprint for any aspiring reporter.

To really appreciate this book, one needs to try to relocate oneself into an early eighteenth century mindset. The Sun (newspaper) was not even a shudder upon the horizon, journalism was only slowly emerging from its pamphlet stage and the in depth coverage of a topic was a new concept. Add to this that the UK had just been hit by a storm, the ferocity of which, had never been experienced within recorded memory, and for which nothing had truly prepared the people.

From this perspective, Defoe's book is an awe inspiring work. He not only records the events from many perspectives, not simply its effect upon the ruling classes, as we might expect now, but also from the man in the street (sometimes literally, if his house had been torn up). Defoe also encouraged people from around the country to send him their account of the storm and, rather than regurgitating these tales as his own, he includes them, verbatim, allowing the reader to decide upon the veracity thereof (Would that twenty-first century reportage were so honest!). ( )

In 1703, Britain was hit by the worst recorded storm in history. It also caused widespread damage to France and Holland. The southern part of Britain suffered most with much damaged to building - Defoe claiming that the problem with churches was their steeples, many toppling in the storm. Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped off and may orchards and farms destroyed. the loss of life was greatest among sailors, with thousands being drowned and many hundreds of ships and smaller vessels lost. or destroyed.
Daniel Defoe placed an advertisement seeking personal experiences of the storm and this book is mainly a collection of those replies. Several letters confirmed the storm was accompanied by an earthquake. ( )

Includes three separate works: The Storm; The Lay-Man's Sermon upon the Late Storm; and An Essay on the Late Storm. Hambyln's introduction to the 2003 edition includes extensive biographical notes on Daniel Defoe and commentary on the development of his particular narrative style.